Sunil Mittal's son joins Bharti Airtel

Leading mobile operator Bharti Airtel has appointed the son of its billionaire founder-chairman as a manager, setting the ball rolling for his eventual succession of the $27 billion company.

Shravin Bharti Mittal, 23, one of twin sons of Sunil Bharti Mittal, will be part of Bharti's international operations in Africa, the company said in a statement.

"I think Mittal's message to his son is 'start from the shop floor and prove your mettle before you get elevated to a senior position and don't expect an ovarian lottery'," said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, head of equity at SMC Capitals in New Delhi.

The appointment comes in the wake of succession talks among Indian businesses, which are mostly family-driven.

Wipro Ltd, the country's third-biggest outsourcer, this week named its founder-chairman billionaire Azim Premji's oldest son, who is widely seen as heir apparent, as chief strategy officer.

Last month Tata Group, India's oldest and the best-known, set a milestone saying it would look beyond the family for a successor to its chairman Ratan Tata, who is due to retire by end-2012.

Grooming time
Sunil Mittal is a first-generation entrepreneur who has come a long way from selling bicycle parts to control India's top mobile carrier that recently became the world's fifth-biggest after acquiring telecoms assets in 15 African countries from Kuwait's Zain in a $9 billion deal.

The soft-spoken elder Mittal is the second of three sons of a politician. Like most Indians, Mittals have strong family ties, and his brothers work with him at Bharti, although his top lieutenants are outsiders.

Thunuguntla said family members starting at a junior level was better than parachuting them in senior positions, which  sometimes prove counter-productive for the company.

Shravin Mittal will initially get an annual salary of €50,000 ($64,130), according to a company statement. His job will be to assist the management in "integration of Zain Africa", according to an annual report posted on company's website.

He may be elevated to the board of the company's international unit or equivalent position in future, the company said.

Holder of a degree in accounting and finance from the University of Bath in the UK, Shravin Mittal joins from JP Morgan Cazenove in London where he was an analyst in the technology, media and telecommunications division of the investment banking unit.

He had earlier worked with Merrill Lynch in New York and Ernst & Young in London.

Shares in Bharti Airtel, valued at more than $27 billion, have risen about 3% so far this year, compared with a more than 4 percent gain in the main index.The stock was one of the worst-performers among the benchmark index components last year.